Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo bear-hugged the reelection candidacy of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) after Menendez’s rival picked up the endorsement of a former DiVincenzo ally.

“This is going to be a very close race,” DiVincenzo told InsiderNJ. “We must win this senate seat, just like we must win the Mikie Sherrill seat in CD-11. Bob [Menendez], since he was a congressman, we’ve always been very close. Not only here in Essex and in New Jersey but throughout the world, there’s nobody more knowledgeable than Bob Menendez.”

The county executive, himself on the ballot two weeks from today, acknowledged a close statewide contest between Menendez and Hugin.

“We’ve got to work our tails off,” he said. “This guy Hugin is spending $2 million a week to smear Bob. It’s all lies. It’s a set-up. When you’re behind you go nuclear like that. But Bob needs everybody.

“We need to be there for Bob,” the county executive added.